Anything but Ordinary

Water can be so plain and tasteless but it is one of the most beneficial items for your body. 

We constantly hear to drink eight standard glasses of water everyday, but what exactly does that do? Dehydration takes negative effects on the body and water can help alleviate strain on one's daily diet.

Water helps...

• eliminate waste through digestion
• prevent cramping during exercise
• alleviate stress
• promote a healthy metabolism
• detoxify the body
• moisturize joints
• prevent dry skin
• regulate blood pressure
• relief constipation

Even though water is so nutritional, it does not appeal to everyone's taste buds. If you find yourself in this situation, we have a solution for you!

Fruit Infused Water!

Adding any of your favorite fruits to plain water can add great taste and additional health benefits! Some of our favorite recipes include...

• Cucumber + Mint
• Apples + Cinnamon Stick
• Cucumber + Watermelon
• Orange + Ginger
• Raspberries + Lime
• Honeydew + Cantaloupe 
• Blueberry + Pomegranate
• Strawberry + Kiwi
• Watermelon + Rosemary

Try any of your favorite fruit and herbs. Everything tastes great! Some of the most popular ingredients also have the greatest benefits.

Cucumber cools and hydrates

Fresh Mint freshens breath and treats nausea

Lemon and Limes boosts immunity and prevents colds

Ginger warms the body and helps with digestion

Honey alleviates infections

Cinnamon regulates blood sugar

Berries prevent oxidation

Next time you want to reach in and grab a soda or sugared juice, try blending you favorite fruits with some water and enjoy a refreshing, low-calorie, natural, healthy infused water.

Looking for extra recipes or information on water? Explore http://www.theyummylife.com/Flavored_Water

-CSUFitness 

Workout Review: BODYPUMP™

Have you ever wanted to start "lifting"? Have you ever been interested in weights and thought: "weightlifting is so cool, but I have no idea how to do it..."? Well, look no further, my friends!

Just one week ago, I felt the same way you did. And then I discovered BODYPUMP™. If you don't know what it is, here's a quick clip to give you a general idea of its intense awesome-ness:

Essentially, BODYPUMP™ is a barbell class with a few free weight/body weight exercises. Classes typically run an hour in length with popular, upbeat music throughout. They start with a fairly short warm-up and then transition into leg, arm, back, shoulder, chest, and ab-focused sets to give you a full-body workout in 60 minutes. What I like best is that the entire time, the instructor(s)--classes typically have 1-2 instructors--are talking about proper form, how much weight you should be lifting relative to your "warm-up weight," modifications, etc. Also, the class is very user-friendly! I had no idea how much weight to start with as the class was my first time ever using a barbell, but the instructors were very friendly and helpful in getting me set up correctly.

As for difficulty, this class is really what you make it. It's always good to start with a light weight the first time you take it, but if you don't feel sore after the class, then you NEED to add weight. The class incorporates a lot of reps, so you will definitely feel the burn!

My one criticism of the class is that, while it does work your arms and legs like crazy, I feel like abs kind of fall through the cracks. At least in the classes I've taken, we'll do abs last and just do various types of sit-ups/crunches with and without weights for about 8 minutes. Maybe it's just me, but generally I prefer something a bit more challenging and diverse.

Regardless, I really like this class and since my first time taking it, have taken it three (soon to be four!) times. I've already noticed a difference in my arms, legs, and butt and am very happy with how good I feel afterwards!

Ratings:
Intensity           ****
User-friendly     *****
Good workout   ****

If you want more information on BODYPUMP™, you can check out their website here or check if your local gym offers classes! BODYPUMP™ is now found in over 70 countries and 10,000 health-clubs and gyms world-wide, so I'm sure that there's a class near you!

Stay tuned for our next post and don't forget to comment below if there's anything in particular you'd want us to post about!

CSUFitness Team

Welcome to CSUFitness!

We're a group of college students located in California (CSU = California State University) and we're going to be posting about various topics in the health and fitness world, including different food items, workout regimens, etc. over the next few weeks. As we begin this journey to live a healthier lifestyle together, we hope that you will join us!

Look out for our next blog post later this week, and let us know in the comments below if there is anything specific you'd like us to post about!

CSUFitness Team